Related papers: Four Dimensional $\mathbf{\mathcal{N}=4}$ SYM and …
We study a large class of domain wall solutions with $Mkw_3\times \Sigma^2$ and $Mkw_2\times \Sigma^3$ slices from maximal gauged supergravity in six dimensions. $\Sigma^2$ and $\Sigma^3$ are given by a Riemann surface and a $3$-manifold…
We discuss supersymmetry breaking in the field-theoretical limit of the strongly-coupled heterotic string compactified on a Calabi-Yau manifold, from the different perspectives of four and five dimensions. The former applies to light…
We consider heterotic string backgrounds in four-dimensional Minkowski space, where N=1 supersymmetry is spontaneously broken at a low scale m_{3/2} by a stringy Scherk-Schwarz mechanism. We review how the effective gauge couplings at…
We show that four-dimensional $\mathcal N=1$ effective theories of gravity obtained from string compactifications require a non-perturbative completion, as additional light states of non-perturbative origin must be incorporated in the small…
We investigate a recently identified class of six-dimensional supergravities without tensor multiplets whose primitive BPS strings are described by a rational superconformal field theory. Rationality imposes severe constraints on the…
We continue our study of gaugings the maximal $N=(2,2)$ supergravity in six dimensions with gauge groups obtained from decomposing the embedding tensor under $\mathbb{R}^+\times SO(4,4)$ subgroup of the global symmetry $SO(5,5)$.…
We generalise the notions of supersymmetry and superspace by allowing generators and coordinates transforming according to more general Lorentz representations than the spinorial and vectorial ones of standard lore. This yields novel…
We construct, for the first time, an off-shell supersymmetric continuous spin gauge theory in 4-dimensional Minkowski spacetime, in both constrained and unconstrained Lagrangian formulations. As an extension to the on-shell description [1],…
Locally supersymmetric systems in odd dimensions whose Lagrangians are Chern-Simons forms for supersymmetric extensions of anti-de Sitter gravity are discussed. The construction is illustrated for D=7 and 11. In seven dimensions the theory…
We derive harmonic superspaces for N=2,3,4 SYM theory in four dimensions from superstring theory. The pure spinors in ten dimensions are dimensionally reduced and yield the harmonic coordinates. Two anticommuting BRST charges implement…
We review the classification of supersymmetric solutions to minimal gauged supergravity in four dimensions. After a short introduction to the main features of the theory, we explain how to obtain all its solutions admitting a Killing…
The Standard Model is the low-energy limit of a microscopic theory which includes extra dimensions and new symmetries. A part of my thesis consisted in constructing a new class of models with two extra dimensions. We showed that these…
We address the possibility of false vacuum decay in $N=1$ supergravity theories, including those corresponding to superstring vacua. By establishing a Bogomol'nyi bound for the energy density stored in the domain wall of the $O(4)$…
The U-dualities of maximally supersymmetric supergravity theories lead to celebrated non-perturbative constraints on the structure of quantum gravity. They can also lead to the presence of global symmetries since manifolds equipped with…
The physical states of N=4 conformal supergravity in four dimensions occur in twistor-string theory by Berkovits and Witten(hep-th/0406051). We study two alternative versions of twistor-string theory based on the B-model of weighted…
The cosmological observations provide a strong evidence that there is a positive cosmological constant in our universe and thus the spacetime is asymptotical de Sitter space. The conjecture of gravity as the weakest force in the…
This is the written version of a talk given in Bonn on September 11th, 2001 during a workshop on "Special structures in string theory". We report on joint work in progress with George Papadopoulos aimed at classifying the maximally…
We investigate asymptotic symmetries in flat backgrounds of dimension higher than or equal to four. For spin two we provide the counterpart of the extended BMS transformations found by Campiglia and Laddha in four-dimensional Minkowski…
Magical supergravities are a very special class of supergravity theories whose symmetries and matter content in various dimensions correspond to symmetries and underlying algebraic structures of the remarkable geometries of the Magic Square…
We consider ${\cal N}=4$ conformal supergravity with an arbitrary holomorphic function of the complex scalar $S$ which parametrizes the $SU(1,1)/U(1)$ coset. Assuming non-vanishings vevs for $S$ and the scalars in a symmetric matrix…